RUSSIA: LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY CROATIA DEMONSTRATION

(8 Aug 1995) Russian/Nat
The leader of Russia's ultra-nationalists, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, was in typically belligerent form Tuesday when he led a protest outside the Croatian Embassy in Moscow.
Members of his Liberal Democratic Party were protesting over the Croat offensive against Serb-held Krajina.
But it was an unconvincing turn out for the ultra-nationalist leader who makes no secret of his support for the Serbs.
While Russian President Boris Yeltsin awaits a response to his offer to hold peace talks, ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky is endeavoring to take his own initiative on the Balkans crisis.
The leader of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party led a protest to the Croatian Embassy in Moscow Tuesday.
But it was hardly a sign of the success of Zhirinovsky's zealous, ultra-nationalism that has worried the West for some time.
Barely a dozen demonstrators had turned up to pledge their kinship with their Orthodox Serb brethren - and protest against Croatia's lightening strike against Serb-held Krajina last weekend.
The only excitement came when Zhirinovsky ever willing to play up to his firebrand reputation rounded on policemen.
They had earlier arrested at least three of the demonstrators.
The belligerent ultra-nationalist stopped short of violence, contenting himself instead with a verbal assault.
He then told a tiny group of journalists that he was planning his own mission to the Balkans.
SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
We're going to Belgrade and Pale and we might also go to Croatia so we can see and talk with both sides.
SUPERCAPTION: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party
But while today's demonstration was a pitiful turn-out for Zhirinovsky - once feared as the Karadzic of the former Soviet Union - sympathies in Russia's highest political circles still lie with the Serbs.
Russia's lawmakers see the Orthodox Serbs as their natural allies.
They are considering inviting Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, a frequent visitor to Moscow, to address the Russian parliament - a move that would help give Karadzic the legitimacy that he craves.
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